Since 1925 there have been a total of ten Fire Chiefs that have overseen the operation of the Hollywood Fire Department. The longest serving was Chief H.L. Cook, who served as Chief from august 1937 until he retired in May 1968, a career total of some forty-three years.

Until after World War II, the only major fire and the only one resulting in death to members of the Fire Department was the great Southern Hotel fire on July 21st, 1940. Damage was estimated at $10,000, and the fire was caused by faulty wiring according to Chief A.J. Wilkie. Firefighter Gilbert J. Higgins, 36, was killed when he came in contact with electrical wires while combating the fire. At the same incident, James F. Woodruff was knocked from a ladder suffering a fractured arm and severe burns. He later died as a result of these injuries on November 10th, 1951. The next person to lose his life was George McCall, Fire Alarm Superintendent, who died from electrocution while working on electrical wires at Young Circle. Driver/Engineer, Jay Holland, lost his life while on duty attempting to rescue a drowning victim from the ocean behind the Surf Hotel on April 12th, 1952. The last person who died in the line of duty was F.P.O. II Lorn (Corky) Cochran; he died of a heart attack while performing a fire inspection on February 13th, 1987. Inspector Cochran was honored after his death by naming the Hollywood Firefighter of the Year Award after him beginning in 1988.

In 1987 the department changed its name from the Hollywood Fire Department to the Hollywood Fire Rescue Department to better reflect its commitment to providing emergency medical services. The department has been providing paramedic services to the citizens of Hollywood since 1975. In 1995 Beach Safety was incorporated into the Operations Division of the fire department. In 1996 the name was again changed, this time to the Hollywood Fire Rescue and Beach Safety Department, which is still in effect today. From the original nineteen men and two pieces of apparatus the Hollywood Fire Rescue Department has evolved to its present size of over three hundred personnel of which two hundred twenty-two are certified firefighters with thirty-two pieces of apparatus in five fire stations. The department is organized into four divisions; Fire Prevention and Life Safety, Operations, Administrative Services and Support Services. An administrative staff of one Deputy Fire Chief and four Division Chiefs supports the Chief of the department.

When the Insurance Service Organization (ISO) first rated the City of Hollywood Fire Department with a possible rating from one to ten, Hollywood was an ISO rated Class 4 department. This is a very important rating, as all commercial insurance rates are based on this rating. The lower the rating a city attains, the lower the cost of insurance, thus lowering the cost of doing business. Over the years the Department improved services, the water deliver system, dispatch communications, and training. When we were re-evaluated in 1991 our rating improved to an ISO Class 2 department. In 2001 the Hollywood Fire Rescue and Beach Safety Department was again re-evaluated by the ISO with a full property protection classification inspection. The Fire Service this time achieved the prestigious Class 1 ranking.

To put this into prospective, of 44,000 Fire Service Districts inspected by ISO, only 42 have been ranked as number one by the ISO. That is less than 1/10th of 1%!